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Throughout most of its life, a star maintains a delicate balance between the inward force of its own gravity and the outward force of pressure created by fusion. If this balance is disturbed a star will collapse.

Very massive stars can fuse elements up until iron. Once a star begins fusing iron, this absorbs energy rather than releasing it. There is no longer any energy being released to support the star, so the core collapses under its own weight as the outer layers explode violently outward. This is a supernova. The extreme heat generated by a supernova is responsible for fusing elements heavier than iron, up until uranium.

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14y ago

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